Ship hull construction



March 27, 1934. A. J. BIRCH v v v ,9 ,1

' SHIP HULL CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 3, 1931 4 3 Sheets-Shet l I IINVENTOR Mm, J. :v

A TTORNE Y5 March 21; 1934.

A. J. BIRCH SHIP HULL CONSTRUCTION Filed-Feb. 3, 1931 s Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR Ahdvtw J .jsh k v ATTORNEYS March 27, 1934. A. J; BIRCH SHIPHULL CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 3; 1951 A 3 Shets-Sheet 5 can an.

In S Rm Y O M ma l E .0 WW n A r AYW Patented Mar. 27, 1934 UNITED\STATES PATENT V OFFICE 1 1,952,156 surr HULL CONSTRUCTION Andrew J.Birch, Staten Island, N. Y.

Application February 3, 1931, Serial No. 513,099

14 Claims. (01. 114--79)' t This invention relates to iron shipconstruction, and particularly to water craft employed which they haveto meet in their transport op-.

erations.

Among the conditions which vessels engaged in harbor and inland waterservice must be constructed to meet are the liability to damage fromcollision with other vessels and the liability to damage from collisionwith wharves and other projections into the courses which they traverse.In substantially all cases the impact of such collisions is either froma long, substantially perpendicular object such as the stem of a vessel,

or from a long substantially horizontal object" such as a side fenderguard or a rubbing strip of a vessel.

Water craft as heretofore constructed for harbor and inland watertransport have not been well adapted to meet such conditions. Asheretofore constructed, such water craft have embodied one of two typesof side framing, the "transverse and the longitudinal. In the transversetype of side framing the frame members immediately in contact with theinner surface of the side plating are for the most part vertical, whilein the longitudinal type of side framing the frame members which contactimmediately with the inner surface of the side plating are horizontal.It will be apparent that when a vessel is provided with either of thesetwo types of side framing, a blow from a perpendicular object may landbetween two vertical frame members of a transversely framed vessel anddamage its side, and that a blow from a horizontal object may landbetween two horizontal frame members of a longitudinally framed vesseland damage its side. 45 A general object of the present invention is toprovide a construction for iron ships or the like, and particularly animproved side framing for such ships that will better meet theconditions of usage to which such ships are subjected than the types ofconstruction heretofore employed.

More particularly the present invention aims to provide side framing foriron ships or the like, and particularly for vessels employed in harborand inland water services which. has its frame 55 members so arrangedthat the outer skin or plating of the vessel is so directly backed andreinforced by said frame members that the skin or plating is notvulnerable to damage from impacts to which the vessel is at all likelyto be subjected even under the roughest conditions of V usage. Theinvention also aims to improve and strengthen the entire frameconstruction of ship hulls to make them more rugged and more resistantto the strains and stresses of navigation as well as to the less usualstrains and stresses to which they are subjected in collisions withother vessels and with stationary objects.

Other objects and important features of the invention will appear whenthe following description and claims are considered in connection withthe accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a somewhat diagrammaticelevation of a scow embodying the present invention,

a part of the riveting only being shown;

Figure 2 is a broken longitudinal section of a part of this scow,showing particularly the side framing;

Figure 3 is a perspective of a portion of the framing with the deck,side and bottom plating removed; and

Figure 4 is a section on the line 44 of Figure 2 through one-half of thestructure, illustrating the construction of one of the bulkheads.

In the illustrative embodiment the invention is shown as applied tothe-construction of a steel- 86 deck scow of the type employed byrailroads for car ferries, but no details are shown of the specialfeatures such as tracks, etc. necessary to adapt the scow for cartransport.

In the hull construction illustrated, the sides 90 of the hull comprisea skin, or plating 2 of steel or other suitable material forconstructions of this type reinforced by frame members 4 directlybacking and riveted or otherwise connected to the side skin or plating,these frame members 4 being inclined to the horizontal at any suitableangle,

the illustrated frame members 4 being inclined to the horizontal at anangle of 45.

The frame members 4 may be of any suitable section, for example, Zsection or channel section, the illustrated frame members being of 2section. As shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, the inner flange 6 of eachdiagonal or oblique frame member 4 is connected at its headto acontinuous longitudinal angle 8 which in turn is connected to acontinuous longitudinal channel 10 forming the shelf upon which the deckbeams 12 are supported and to which they are connected, the heel of eachoblique frame member 4 being likewise connected to a continuous .20 arecontinuous between bulkheads.

tinuous longitudinal channel 16 to which the transverse beams 18 of thebottom are connected. Both the channel 10 and the channel 16 are alsoriveted or otherwise connected to the side plating 2.

The oblique frame members 4 and the side plating 2 may be furtherreinforced by longitudinal side stringers 20 such as illustrated, theillustrated side stringers 20 comprising Z sections slotted to receivethe oblique frame members, the outer flange 22 of each of the stringers20 being riveted or otherwise directly connected to the side plating andthe web portion of the stringer being connected to the inner flange 6 ofeach oblique member 4 by a short angle piece 24'. stringers At eachbulkhead-the stringer 20 may be connected to a bracket 26 which in turnis connected to a vertical frame member 28 which may be a web plate orchannel section forming a part of one of the bulkheads, this web plateor channel section 28 being riveted at head and heel respectively to thedeck beams12 and bottom beams 18 and the brackets 26 being each rivetedas shown to the web of the web plate or channel section 28.

It will be'noted from an inspection of Fig. 4 that the bulkheads in theillustrative embodiment of the invention may comprise angle struts 30and 32 to which plates 34 are riveted where the struts cross, thestruts" 30 and 32 adjacent the sides of the hull being riveted to theweb of the vertical frame member 28 and all of the struts being rivetedto deck and bottom beams 12 and 18.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the longitudinalstringers 20 and the vertical web plates orchannel sections 28 serve toreinforce the diagonal frame members 4 longitudinally and vertically,and that the bulkhead construction extending across the hull serves toincrease this reinforcement. The number of bulk- I heads may be thatusually provided for structures of this sort.

Between the sides of the hull and at the ends the framing may be thatusually employed in structures of this sort as shown particularly inFig. 3.

Among the advantages of the above-described construction in addition toits presenting reinforcement to the sideplating against damage by impactwith either vertically or horizontally ex-- tending objects are theincreased ability of the structure as a whole to-resist the strainswhich tend to distort it and to cause shearing of rivets, etc. Informing the sides, the side plating is preferably one deep plate withfew vertical joints.

"It will be seen, moreover, that these few vertical joints are wellbridged. over. by the diagonal frames which insures that there will be aminimum of breakage because there are so few rivets under stress whenthe forces are applied which tend to push the ends up and the centerdown or vice-versa.

It will further be seen that the overlap of on diagonal frame member.over the next one throughout the length of the hull, the illustratedembodiment of the invention having at least three overlapping diagonalmembers in substantially any vertical section of the side, constitutesin itself a longitudinal continuity of the rigidity of the side framingand a continuous reinforcement of the side plating against buckling orshearing strains by reason of the connections be tween the plating andthe frame members,

- longitudinal angle 14, in turn connected to a con- In completing thecovering of the frame of the hull in theillustrative embodiment of theinvention, the deck plates 36 are riveted to the beams 12; the bottomplates 38 are riveted to the bottom beams 18 and the strips 40 arewelded to the outer face of the side plate 2 preferably over thelongitudinal stringers 20. Corner plates 42 and 44, butt-welded at theirends, are riveted respec- When assembling a hull embodying the presentinvention, the sides may be brought to the point of assembly with thediagonal brace members 4 and the side stringers 20 already bull-rivetedto the skin or plating 2. In the illustrative embodiment of theinvention, for example, one entire side may be made up of two sectionsof side plating, each of. the full depth of the hull and of onehalf itslength, with the diagonal frame members 4 and the side stringers 20bull-riveted to the plating at the steel mill. In this construction,therefore, there will be but a single vertical joint which will becovered by a butt-strap 46 spanning the joint and riveted to the twoplate sections, the diagonal braces which are cut at this point beingconnected by splice bars 48 spanning the joint. The side stringers 20may be similarly spliced.

It will be noted that the angles 8 and 14, or other suitable sectionsused for attachment of the diagonal frame members 4, together with theassociated channels 10 and 16, which constitute the continuous top andbottom shelves of the structure,.take the place of the usual beam kneebrackets and materially increase the strength of the side because oftheir mass and 'either direction. Moreover, these continuous shelves andconnected angles make for fairer alignment during erection, protrudeless into the hold than beam knees do and permit the deck and bottombeams 12 and 18 to be spaced to suit the loads imposed, each regardlessof the other and all regardless of the location of any of the diagonalside frame members, a condition which is not possible in the transversesystem where the beam knees compel a compromise to be made between thedemands of side deck and bottom in fixing the spacing in order that thebeams and frames may lie in the same transverse vertical plane. a

It will be understood that many modifications may be made in thesections of the frame members used, in the relative locations of theparts and in the relative inclinations of the frame members to eachother without departing from the spirit of the invention. It will alsobe understood that when the expression "iron ship con struction is usedit is employed merely to denote the system of construction generallyutilized in iron ship building as distinguished from timber shipbuilding and ferro-concrete ship building, irrespective of the actualmaterial employed.

Although stress has been placed on the suitability of the hullconstruction hereinabove described for harbor and inland water craft, itwill be understood that it may equally be applied to ship hulls ingeneral and that the connections between the various frame members andthe plating and also between the various frame members themselves may bemade in any suitable way and not necessarily in the specific ways hereinillustrated and described.

The expression sheet metal, used for convenience in the followingclaims, is intended to include metal, in sheet form, of a substantialrange of thicknesses and particularly plates of a thickness suitable forthe skin or plating of the sides and decks of ships.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A ship hull construction for iron ships and the like having its sideframe construction formed of similarly inclined spaced diagonal framemembers of steel frame section, continuous longitudinal shelvesconnected respectively to the heads and to the heels of said diagonalframe members, longitudinal stringers reinforcing said diagonal framemembers between said shelves, and an outer skin or plating of sheetmetal directly backed by said diagonal frame members and permanentlyconnected thereto.

2. A ship hull construction for iron ships and the like having its sideframe construction formed of similarly inclined diagonal frame membersof steel frame section so spaced and so overlapped as to intercept blowsagainst the side from either perpendicular or horizontal objects, a skinor outer plating of sheet metal directly backed by and permanentlyconnected to said diagonal said diagonal frame members.

3. A ship hull construction comprising deck and bottom shelves formed ofcontinuouslongitudinal channel sections, similarly inclined verticallyoverlapping spaced diagonal frame members extending between saidshelves, angles riveted respectively to said diagonal frame members andto the webs of said shelf-forming channels, and side plating of sheetmetal directly riveted to said diagonal frame members.

4. A ship hull construction for iron ships and the like having its sideframe construction formed of similarly inclined spaced diagonal framemembers of steel frame section overlapping vertically, an outer skin orplating of sheet metal directly backed by said diagonal frame membersand permanently secured thereto, longitudinal stringers I an outer skinor plating of sheet metal directly backed by said diagonal frame membersand permanently secur'ed thereto, and vertical frame members reinforcingsaid diagonal frame members.

6. A ship hull construction for iron ships and the like having its sideframe construction formed of similarly inclined spaced diagonal framemembers of steel frame'section overlapping vertically, an outer skin orplatingof sheet metal directly backed by said diagonal frame members andpermanently secured thereto, longitudinal stringers also directlybacking said skin or plating and to which said skin or plating ispermanently secured, and'vertical frame members to which saidlongitudinal stringers are permanently secured, said vertical framemembers constituting parts of transverse bulkheads.

7. A main hull structure for ships and the like comprising only incombination a plurality of substantially parallel obliquely anduni-directionally arranged frames between the bulkheads, longitudinalgirders at the upper part of the hull to which the frames are connected,longitudinal girders at the lower part of the hull to which the framesare connected and plating attached to the frames and the girders so asto form the side walls of the hull.

8. A main hull structure for ships and the like comprising only incombination a plurality of substantially parallel obliquely anduni-directionally arranged frames between the bulkheads, a plurality oflongitudinal girders connected to said frames, one of said girders beingarranged at the upper part of the hull and one of the said girders beingarranged at the lower part of the hull and plating attached to theframes and girders so as to form the side walls of the hull.

9. A main hull structure for ships and the like comprising only incombination a plurality of substantially parallel obliquely anduni-directionally arranged frames between the bulkheads, a plurality oflongitudinal girders connected to said frames, one of said girders beingarranged at the upper part of the hull and one of the said girders beingarranged at the lower part of the hull and plating attached to theframes and girders so as to form the side walls of the hull, some or allof the longitudinal girders being of box form.

10. In a side frame construction for iron ship hulls having sideplating, a truss constituting the side frame and comprising a web formedof the side plating, frame members of steel frame section extending fromtop to bottom of said truss and directly connected to and bearingagainst said plating on its inner face, the said frame members being allparallel to each other, inclined to the vertical at a substantial angleand so spaced with respect to their inclination that successive membersoverlap vertically, and top and bottom frame members to which saidinclined frame members are connected at their respective ends.

11. In a side frame construction for iron ship hulls having sideplating, a truss constituting the side frame and comprising a web formedof the side plating, frame members of steel frame section extending fromtop to bottom of said truss and directly connected to and bearingagainst said plating on its inner face, the said frame membersbeing allparallel to each other, inclined to the vertical at a substantial angleand so spaced with respect to their inclination that substantially anyvertical section through said truss will intersect at least three ofsaid inclined frame members, and top and bottom frame members to whichsaid inclined frame members are connected at their respective ends.

12. In a side frame construction for iron ship hulls having sideplating; a truss constituting the and longitudinal stringers connectedto said side thereof.

13. In a side frame construction for iron ship hulls having sideplating, a truss constituting the side frame and comprising a web formedof the side plating, frame members of steel frame section extending fromtop to bottom of said truss and directly connected to and bearingagainst said plating on its inner face, the said frame members being allparallel to each other, inclined to the vertical at a substantial angleand so spaced with respect to their inclination that successive membersoverlap vertically, top and bot-- tom frame members to which saidinclined frame members are connected at their respective ends, andlongitudinal stringers connected to said side frame members at pointsbetween the top and bottom thereof, said longitudinal stringers also I1,952,156 'frame truss at points between the top and bottom bearingdirectly against the inner face of said side plating and being connectedthereto.

14. In a side frame construction for iron ship hulls having sideplating, a truss constituting the side frame and comprising a web formedof the side plating, frame members of steel frame section extending fromtop to bottom of said truss and directly connected to and bearingagainst said plating on its inner face, the said frame members being allparallel to each other, inclined to the vertical at a substantial angleand so spaced with respect to their inclination that suc-

